Although the Swell Season recently confessed to us that the their new album 'Strict Joy' was written more apart than together, they also took the time to explain to us the meaning behind the seemingly oxymoronic album title. In fact, they borrowed it from James Stephens, whose collection of poems has the same title. However, it turns out they're thinking well beyond than just an homage to their favorite poet.

"The poem is about when you go in and address your sorrow. It's a transformative thing that happens," Swell Season frontman Glen Hansard tells Spinner. "When you pull it out of the inner and give the words voice, there is a weird thing where the coal turns to diamond."

Yes, 'Let Love Rule,' the album that introduced the world to Lenny Kravitz and made the singer/songwriter/guitarist a star is 20 years old. To commemorate the milestone, Kravitz went back to the beginning to create a deluxe version of the CD. To do so, Kravitz says he had to really look back at 1989. "I had to pay attention to my life at that time," he tells Spinner. "We found a lot of photographs and memorabilia and things that brought me back to 20 years ago. The interesting thing for me was that it still felt fresh, it felt the same. That was really weird."

That the record, which included the monster title song, has remained relevant all these years is a testament to his vision at that time. "I remember saying 'I want to make a record that in 20 years would stand up.' That was the sentence that I said," he says. Now, he's not trying to take credit for being a prophet at the time. "Obviously I couldn't have been thinking 20 years ahead. I wasn't even thinking 20 minutes ahead," he says. "I had no idea I would ever make another record besides that one. I didn't know what was going on. I just knew that there was music inside of me and I wanted to express it."

Terms that come up more than once in our list of the best songs of the 2000s: "crazy," "idiot," "falling." That's the decade in a nutshell. Too much crazy-making. Too many people acting like idiots. Too many things (buildings, savings, morale) in free-fall. Appropriately, a majority of the songs that will endure beyond the '00s rallied around a common theme: learning to live like there's no tomorrow. Because you never know.

50. 'I Predict a Riot,' Kaiser Chiefs (2004)

An anthem of anarchy perfectly suited to kick off our list. Things are about to get a bit gory, we tell thee.

49. '1234,' Feist (2007)

Thanks to this Canadian singer-songwriter, teenage hope will now forever be tied to iPods and pastel leotards.

48. 'The Seed (2.0),' The Roots (2002)

Neo-soulman Cody Chesnutt sings the hooky refrain to this reboot of his song 'The Seed,' and the psychedelic garage funk laid down by Illadelph's finest hip-hop band renames it rock 'n' roll.

25. 'Electric Feel,' MGMT (2008)

The electro feel of this indie synth-pop stunner should please MGMT's stockholders, as this Brooklyn duo demonstrates a CEO's knack for dance floor management.

24. 'New Slang,' The Shins (2001)

"You've got to hear this one song. It'll change your life," said Natalie Portman when she handed the headphones to Zach Braff. We don't know about that, but it sure is pretty.

23. 'Lazy Eye,' Silversun Pickups (2007)

No, your speakers are not channeling 1991, and no, this is not a lost Smashing Pumpkins single, but both of those assumptions would be high compliments for this loud-soft epic.

22. 'Paper Planes,' M.I.A. (2007)

No doubt the late Joe Strummer would have loved M.I.A., the Clash-sampling, pan-global mongrel who pinballed between Sri Lanka, London and India in her formative years. Her dad was a Tamil rebel, and she knows how to take a stand.

21. 'Maps,' Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003)

She's Korean, she's Polish, she lives in L.A. But Karen O is New York all over. Her band's breakthrough track still pulses with the anxious energy of her former hometown.

20. 'Hip Hop Is Dead,' Nas (2006)

The gifted wordsmith had bigger hits ('I Can') and more forward-thinking tracks ('Black President') in the '00s, but he could hardly have made a bolder statement.

19. 'This Love,' Maroon 5 (2004)

John Mayer called it a perfect song. We don't call it anything -- too busy singing along.

18. 'Jesus Walks,' Kanye West (2005)

WWJD? He'd walk with Kanye, of course. Got to be tough finding anyone else to walk on water with.

17. 'Feel Good Inc.,' Gorillaz (2005)

Cartoon bands (with the possible exception of Spongebob's 'Band Geeks' episode) have never been so thoroughly enjoyable.

16. 'Yellow,' Coldplay (2000)

It's the color of fear, caution and tabloid journalism. It's also the color of the sun, and the band that came out of the shadows with the single called 'Yellow' has been a bright light ever since.

15. 'Lose Yourself,' Eminem (2002)

In hindsight, Eminem's autobiographical acting debut in '8 Mile' marked the high point of the trickster's relevance. The tense, grunge-y featured track gained him plenty of new admirers and made it almost possible to repeat.

14. 'Rehab,' Amy Winehouse (2006)

Still saying "No, no, no," the beehive of '06 rather predictably fell into a hornets' nest of personal trouble. But the naughty defiance of this bad-girl anthem has kept us buzzing.

13. 'Mr. Brightside,' The Killers (2004)

Boy meets girl. Girl leaves boy. We'd feel sorry for frontman Mr. Flowers if we weren't so busy dancing.

12. 'Hey Ya!,' Outkast (2003)

For a moment there, the eccentric drawling ATLien in the plaid suit and the futuristic nickname had the whole world under his thumb. Shake it, shake it, shake it ...

11. 'Hurt,' Johnny Cash (2002)

Rick Rubin gave the great Man in Black some weird material to cover during their multi-album collaboration in Cash's last years -- Neil Diamond, Simon & Garfunkel. No song seemed as strange a fit as Trent Reznor's addict's lament, 'Hurt' ... until you heard the thing and couldn't catch your breath.

10. 'Do You Realize??,' The Flaming Lips (2002)

Though the tune designated as Oklahoma's official rock song gently but firmly reminds us that we'll all die someday, the existence of a work of art as vital and breathtaking as this proves there is such a thing as immortality.

9. 'Cry Me a River,' Justin Timberlake (2002)

One Mouseketeer wrongs another, and we get this grown-up, innovative breakup song. The moment that simultaneously marked JT's maturation and the beginning of Britney's fall from grace.

8. 'Pon de Replay,' Rihanna (2005)

Though 'Umbrella' was a certifiable blockbuster around the globe, we'll go with the effervescent tune that first introduced Barbados' finest to an international audience.

7. 'Seven Nation Army,' The White Stripes (2003)

Choosing the best White Stripes single of the decade is like playing Pick-up Sticks -- almost any one will do, but you can't help but disturb the others. Here, they're a one boy/one girl wrecking crew.

6. 'American Idiot,' Green Day (2004)

The canny reinvention of rock's favorite juveniles as socially conscious auteurs has unfurled a string of big pop hits, none as definitive as the lead track from their 2004 "comeback." "Don't want to be an American idiot," declared the same Billie Joe once known for poop jokes and masturbation fatigue.

5. 'My City of Ruins,' Bruce Springsteen (2002)

Written for Asbury Park, the down-and-out Jersey Shore town that made Springsteen famous, this humble gospel song took on a whole new meaning when the Twin Towers fell, restoring the Boss to his role as a cultural rallying point.

4. 'Crazy in Love,' Beyonce Feat. Jay-Z (2003)

Crazy energy from the power couple of the decade -- prettier than Brangelina, more clout than the Obamas.

3. 'Beautiful Day,' U2 (2000)

With one simple thought -- "It's a beautiful day/Don't let it get away" -- Bono reclaimed his self-appointed role as rock 'n' roll's resident spiritual adviser.

2. 'Last Nite,' The Strokes (2001)

The song that crowned rock's new saviors, short-lived as they were. People, they don't understand.

1. 'Crazy,' Gnarls Barkley (2006)

In the summer of '06, who among us wasn't asking, "Does that make me crazy?" Who doesn't ask it every day?

In any other context, lyrics about drinking, sex and exotic places might call to mind, say, the boasts of Lil Wayne or Jay-Z. But draped over twisting grooves and sung without any sense of gloating, Minus the Bear singer Jake Snider's lyrics become a much more relatable escapism.

With his band's still-untitled fourth album set to drop in spring of 2010, Snider is more thankful than ever that music -- once his form of escapism -- actually helped him escape an office job.

"Sitting at a desk is my nightmare. I like exploration, travel, moving away from what ties you down," Snider tells Spinner. "I sold backup libraries for computer networks for three years before the band. It was soul-crushing."

What a playlist! Some African folk songs mixed with the African-American R&B of Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and James Brown. Sidney Bechet and Bollywood. Santana's 'Samba Pa Ti' and a South African lullaby. And it all works together perfectly. It would be tough to find a better mix on any hour of even the most eclectic radio or club DJ set.

But it's on 'Oyo,' the upcoming album from Angélique Kidjo -- due for release in February, though she gave Around the World an early listen and a chance to talk with her about it. The follow-up to the Benin-born star's 2007 contemporary world-music Grammy Award-winning album 'Djin Djin' contains all those things and more. And it's not just an exercise in random eclecticism. This is all music that inspired Kidjo in her youth in Africa to become the artist she is today, and in that regard is a soundtrack for her mission to provide health care and education opportunities for children in Africa and elsewhere in her role as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and with her own Batonga Foundation.

Hard rocker Steve Vai has a soft side -- he's a beekeeper. The guitar virtuoso happened upon the unlikely honey hobby when a swarm of bees in his neighbor's wall beautified his wife's garden. "I wanted to plant these fruit trees and I did some research and found that honeybees are really a fantastic way to pollinate so I just got a hive," he says. "I called up my local beekeeper and he brought me a wild swarm and I put in a colony."

The bees weren't always so cooperative with Vai who had to learn the hard way how to tame their natural instincts. "You puff a little smoke in the hive and they think there's a forest fire so they gorge themselves on honey and they can't sting you because they can't bend their abdomens," he says. "After a while, you go into the hive they get to know you and it's no problem. Honeybees are actually a lot mellower than you think. I'm the bee whisperer!"